s022304February 23, 2004 Special Meeting
The Randolph County Board of Commissioners met in special session at 6:30
p.m. in the Commissioners Meeting Room, County Office Building, 725 McDowell
Road, Asheboro, NC. Commissioners Holmes, Mason, Frye, Kemp and Davis were
present. The purpose of this meeting was to hear a presentation on the final proposals
and recommendations on the County's Comprehensive Recreational Master Plan.
Chairman Holmes convened the meeting and called on Hal Johnson, County
Planning Director, to begin the presentation. Mr. Johnson told the Board that in
November 1999, the Board of Commissioners was presented with the preliminary results
of the first Natural Heritage and Heritage Tourism Inventories ever conducted in
Randolph County. As a result of this study the Board appointed a Heritage Task Force to
review the inventories and make recommendations to the Board concerning actions that
the County could take to enhance our natural resources. In October 2000, the Board
established the Randolph County Heritage Committee and charged it with several
specific functions, one of which was to look at the feasibility of a countywide recreation
plan that could take advantage of the unique natural resources available in Randolph
County and also provide activities for residents and visitors. In October 2002, the Board
and the Tourism Development Authority (TDA) approved funding for a Recreation
Master Plan for Randolph County. A special master plan steering committee was
established. The County hired Woolpert Recreational Planning Consultants to develop an
accurate, usable plan that can help guide actions and decisions concerning park and
recreation facility development through the year 2020.
Andrew Pack and Carl Armanini of Woolpert gave a two-part PowerPoint
presentation outlining their final proposals and recommendations of the Plan. The first
part of the presentation concerned the countywide Recreation Master Plan; the second
part concerned Randleman Lake recreational planning which included an overview of a
prototype district park.
Mr. Pack explained that initially an inventory of existing recreation assets,
including facilities maintained by municipalities, was done. This enabled Woolpert to
identify gaps and weaknesses in existing facilities based on Randolph County's
population when compared to state standards. The Plan identifies general locations within
Randolph County (based on population, travel distance and other factors) where
additional community parks and district park development might be considered over the
next 20 years. Mapping provides the framework for a system of interconnected greenway
paths and multi-purpose trails. The Plan identifies areas where the County might seek
recreational partnership opportunities that could include municipalities and public
schools. The Plan also addresses potential capital funding strategies that might be
considered by the County (i.e. one -cent designated property tax; grants, etc.). The Plan
recommends that the Commissioners establish a County Parks & Recreation Commission
that would serve as an advisory body to the County Commissioners on matters related to
recreation and Recreation Master Plan implementation. The Plan recommends that
administrative responsibility for recreation planning shall be assigned to the County
Planning Director and that a recreation coordinator position be established in the
Planning Dept.
The Plan projects a capital improvement cost of $29,710,000 over a 20 -year
period. Approval of the Recreation Master Plan does not commit the County to any
specific project or any particular strategy. The Master Plan is designed to provide
guidance as decisions and County funding priorities are made by the Board of County
Commissioners over the next 20 years. The existence of a County Recreation Master
Plan can also be beneficial to municipalities as they seek state and federal grants for city -
operated recreation programs.
Mr. Pack and Mr. Armanini presented the second part of their presentation:
Randleman Lake. As a special component of the County Recreation Master Plan, the
TDA identified the Randleman Lake as a priority project for development of site-specific
recreational planning. The impact on tourism of a well planned, environmentally
sensitive, recreational component at Randleman Lake could be significant. In addition,
development of a multi-purpose/special facilities recreation complex (that is not totally
dependant upon lake usage), located between Archdale and Randleman, might provide a
unique opportunity to support recreation development as a job and economic
development booster. For example, this might also strengthen the future development of
a "Hospitality Corridor" (hotels, restaurants and related customer/visitor services) already
developing in Archdale and extending into Randleman. Specific development of passive
recreation that complements the Randleman Lake and takes advantage of Randolph
County's central location and excellent highway infrastructure could be a significant
factor in future economic diversification and job creation. Because of this potential, the
TDA funded a special add-on to the Master Plan project, which requested specific
conceptual planning for a multi-purpose facility that could be located at Randleman Lake.
The TDA also asked Woolpert to make recommendations concerning specific recreation
activities that might be acceptable on Randleman Lake based on current environmental
regulations.
The Master Plan proposes two (as yet undetermined) access points on Randleman
Lake located in Randolph County:
1. A district park multi-purpose facility including a youth soccer complex,
reserve picnic area, regulation soccer complex, softball/youth baseball
complex, picnic pavilions & fishing piers, marina/boat access ramps
2. An access point devoted exclusively to boat launches
Any access points or activities on the Randleman Lake must be approved by the
Piedmont Triad Regional Water Authority (PTRWA). Information produced as a result
of this Randolph County study will need to be presented to the PTRWA at a later date.
Woolpert recommends the following actions that must take place immediately to
start implementation of the Plan:
1. Approve an ordinance to establish a Park & Recreation Commission
2. Hire a Park & Recreation Coordinator (Planning staff position)
3. Appoint members to the Park & Recreation Commission
4. Park & Recreation Commission prepares a funding prioritization plan for
implementation
5. Establish a 1 -cent recreation tax effective July 2005.
Mr. Johnson said that in December 2003, the Park & Recreation Master Plan
Steering Committee and the TDA voted unanimously to approve the draft plan and
recommended that the plan be forwarded to the Board of County Commissioners for
review and final decision.
Asheboro Mayor David Jarrell spoke in support of the Plan and said that he would
support a 2 -cent tax increase if it meant that the full Plan could be realized in 10 years
instead of 20 years.
Archdale Mayor Bert Stone said that she had served on the Steering Committee
and supports the plan and a tax increase in order to implement the Plan.
At 7:52 p.m., Chairman Holmes adjourned the meeting.
J. Harold Holmes, Chairman Darrell L. Frye
Robert O. Mason
Phil Kemp
Robert B. Davis
Cheryl Ivey, Deputy Clerk to the Board